Pete Rose was one of the greatest players in baseball
history. He holds many all-time Major League records,
the most prominent being the 4256 hits that he had during
his career, which spanned 23-years (1963-1986). In addition,
he was a 17-time All-Star.

On August 24, 1989, A. Bartlett Giamatti, the Major
League Baseball Commissioner at the time, banned Rose
from the game amid allegations that Rose had bet on
Cincinnati Reds games, while managing the team, between
1986-1989.

One week after the banishment, Commissioner Giamatti
died of a heart attack.

In 2004, after 15 years of public denial, Rose admitted
to betting on, but not against, the Reds.

This baseball is quite special. It’s signed by
Commissioner Giamatti (on a “Giamatti” ball,
no less) and by Rose, who also wrote on the ball: "I'm
sorry I bet on baseball."

It’s perhaps the only time that Rose “apologized”
to Giamatti for the black mark that he put on the game.

Imagine if a baseball existed in which “Shoeless”
Joe Jackson, who was banned from baseball by Commissioner
Kenesaw “Mountain” Landis for taking money
to throw the 1919 World Series, apologized on a ball
that had also been signed by Landis!

While Rose, in recent years, has written this “apology”
on many baseballs, this apology is the only one that
is both on a “Giamatti” ball and contains
Giamatti's signature.